Display rack

ABSTRACT

An adjustable display rack for gripping knife handles and displaying the knives in single file order comprising two confronting grippers each formed of a single length of resilient wire formed into two parallel elongated interconnected gripping surfaces and 2 feet. The feet of each gripper are releasably secured to a backboard by a clip permitting adjustment of the lateral spacing between the grippers and the feet are offset from the gripping surfaces in each gripper whereby the feet may be mounted in side-by-side relation on the backboard with the grippers level with one another.

United States Patent 'Appl. No.

Nikolaus A. .Ierch; Rudoli Koppe, Streetsville, Ontario, Canada Feb. 5, 1970 Aug. 31, l 97 l RwKo of Canada Limited Streetsville, Ontario, Canada Inventors Filed Patented Assignee DISPLAY RACK 10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 211/49, 211/124, 211/86 Int. Cl A47i 7/00 Field of Search;

References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS l/ 1902 Louder 21 ill 19,

809,422 1/1906 Bowmaster 211/181x 954,805 4/1910 Hitchcock... 312/9 1,111,989 9/1914 Bishop; 211/49 2,507,886 5/1950 Carlson.... 211/124x 2,868,489 1/1959 Calcut.....-. 248/223 8,374,898 3/l968 Karmin. 211/59 Primary Examiner Nile C. Byers, .lr. Attorney-Leon Arthurs ABSTRACTrAn adjustable display rack for gripping knife handles and displaying the knives in single file order comprising two confronting grippers each formed of a single length of resilient wire formed into two parallel elongated interconnected gripping surfaces and 2 feet. The'feet of each gripper are releasably secured to a backboard by a clip permitting adjustment of the lateral spacing between the grippers and the feet are offset from the gripping surfaces in each gripper whereby the feet may be mounted in side-by-side relation on the backboard with the grippers level with one another.

PATENTEDAUBBI I97! I 3.602.370

FIG. 1

FIG. 5

I. I 7'. Z". .1154? I J una- INVENTORS: Midf/QKW & R-KUH E ala MM agent DISPLAY RACK The invention relates to means for displaying a plurality of articles in single file order on a backboard and, more particularly, the invention relates to a display rack adjustably mounted on a backboard for accommodating elongated articles in single file order as aforesaid and for displaying them to best advantage.

More particularly, the invention is concerned with a device which will display a plurality of articles in single file order as aforesaid whereby the leading article at the head of the file is removable without substantially disturbing the others behind it; that immediately behind it then assuming the leading, display position.

Display racks known in the prior art have included fixedly spaced-apart pairs of support tongues secured to and projecting from a backboard and between which elongated bladed articles such as, for example, knives, tools or the like were loosely supported by their handles with their blades depending between the tongues. In the past, however, the said knives or other articles were not effectively gripped between the tongues so as to permit removal of the leading article substantially without disturbing the others.

Also known in the prior art are spring clips which exert a frictional gripping action upon an article to be supported or displayed but such clips are generally designed only to accommodate one article per clip.

It is a broad'object of the present invention to provide display means adapted to display a plurality of articles in single file order on a backboard wherein the articles are frictionally gripped by said display means and thus prevented from becoming inadvertently displaced.

Another main object of the invention is to provide said display means including a pair of tongues mounted on a display board in cooperative relation to each other; said tongues being elongated to accommodate between them a plurality of articles as aforesaid in single file order; the tongues having plural gripping facilities for gripping the respective articles at spaced points on each side thereof.

It is a further object to provide a display means as aforesaid wherein the gripping action exerted on the articles is such that they are retained in alignment with one another and so as to prevent twisting of the articles when so gripped.

It is a still further object to provide display means having grippers in the form ofelongated tongues extending forwardly from the backboard upon which the articles are to be displayed; the tongues having gripping surfaces thereon cooperable with one another to effect a gripping action as aforesaid upon the articles to be displayed.

It is a yet further object to provide display means which may be manufactured simply and economically, such factors being expediently accomplished by manufacturing said tongues of identical configuration and form and each tongue preferably being formed out of a single length of resilient wire.

In accordance with the invention there is provided means for displaying a plurality of articles in single file order on a backboard comprising a pair of elongated gripping tongues having gripping surfaces thereon and means for mounting said tongues in mutually confronting and spaced relation-on, and

extending forwardly from said backboard, the tongues when.-

so mounted being resiliently biased towards one another; at least one gripping surface on one of. the tongues aforesaid cooperating with two gripping surfaces of the confronting tongue to clamp a plurality of said articles therebetween.

Other objects of the invention more or less broad than the foregoing will become apparent from the hereinafter following description of the parts, principles and elements thereof given herein solely by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a display rack constructed in accordance with the invention and assembled and mounted on a backboard;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the display rack;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of one tongue of the display rack, and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view on the line V-V of FIG. 3.

Referring first to FIG. 1 of the drawings there is illustrated therein display means constructed in accordance with the invention and comprising a pair of mutually confronting elongated grippers having tongues -12 forming part thereof; said grippers being secured by mounting means, in the form of a clip 14, to a backboard 16. The pair of grippers are also provided with respective feet 18-20 and the whole assembly is releasably secured together and to the backboard 16 by suitable releasable fasteners such as the screws 22 illustrated herein.

Also in accordance with the invention the tongues 10-12 are provided with gripping surfaces 10a, 10b; 12a, 12b respectively, one at least of said surfaces on one tongue 10 or 12 cooperating with two gripping surfaces on the confronting tongue to clamp a plurality of articles therebetween in single file order. In this specific embodiment it is envisaged that the instant display rack be utilized for the display of a plurality of hunting knives in single file order, the knives being clamped by their handles between the confronting tongues 10-12. It will be appreciated that the foregoing construction provides at least one gripping surface which will coact with one side of the knife handle and two gripping surfaces which will coact with the other side of the handle, the surfaces being mutually confronting, thus ensuring that at least three gripping surfaces will coact with the knife handle whereby the possibility of twisting displacement of the knife relative to the grippers is minimized.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated herein and as is particularly clear from FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, complementary pairs of gripping surfaces 10a, 12a and 10b, 12b of the tongues are level with one another; that is to say the gripping surfaces 10a'and 12a are level with one another as are also the surfaces 10b and 125. Such an arrangement not only provides an extremely neat and attractive appearance to the display rack but also provides a four point gripping action for a knife handle, see FIG. 5, which will not exert any twisting force upon the knife and which is particularly advantageous in gripping a handle which is slightly bowed as schematically illustrated in the aforesaid FIG. 5.

The tongues 10-12 together with their integral feet 18-20 respectively are conveniently formed from identical lengths of resilient wire which may be conveniently of three-sixteenth inch spring steel, the gripping surfaces of the tongues being coated with a rubber or plastic material to enhance the frictional grip applied thereby to the article to be displayed. Such a construction of each gripper is obviously an extremely economical process and, since the two grippers in a mutually confronting pair thereof are identical in configuration and form it follows that only one stamping or forming operation is required.v

As illustrated herein, each said gripper is formed of a single length of the aforesaid resilient wire and is of generally rectangular looped configuration providing one tongue 10 or 12 having two gripping surfaces 10a, 1012 or 12a, 12b and two integral feet 18 or 20 respectively extending perpendicularly therefrom having their axes laterally offset from the axes of the gripping surfaces. Such an arrangement enables two such grippers to be mounted on the backboard 16 by an aforesaid clip 14 in mutually confronting relation, with the feet 18-20 extending towards one another as clearly shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

It will be observed that the aforesaid lateral offsetting of the axes of the feet 18-20 and gripping surfaces 10a, 10b-l2a, 12b is providedby forming a bent portion 18a, 20a respectively of the wire adjacent the feet 18-20. Thus, since the two grippers are of identical configuration; when they are mounted in confrontingrelation, the offset of the gripping surfaces on the one tongue will be in the opposite direction to that of the offset of the gripping surfaces on the confronting tongues. Thus, in the present embodiment where the backboard 16 is shown in a vertical position with the grippers alignment, one with another, as is clearly shown in FIGS. 2, 3

and 5.

It will be appreciated that, since the grippers are, in thisembodiment, formed of spring steel they will, when firmly mounted on the backboard by their feet, be resiliently biased towards one another. Such resilient biasing, of course, enables the gripping surfaces of the two tongues to exert a clamping action upon an article or series of articles in single file order displayed upon the backboard.

The clip 14, by means of which the feet 18-20 of the grippers are releasably secured to the backboard conveniently comprises a small strip of sheet metal formed with suitable passageways extending laterally thereof and shaped to accommodate pairs of feet 18-20 at upper and lower ends of the clip (FIGS. 1 to 3). It will also be apparent that the spacing between the grippers may be adjusted by the simple expedient of moving the feet 18-20 towards or away from one another before the fasteners 22 are tightened up, securing the assembly together and also to the backboard 16.

What we claim is: 1. Means for displaying a plurality of articles in single file order on backboard comprising: a pair of elongated grippers; tongues forming part of said grippers; gripping surfaces extending lengthwise of said tongues; clips for mounting said grippers by their feet on a said backboard with their tongues extending forwardly therefrom in mutually confronting and spaced relation; said tongues being resiliently biased towards one another when mounted as aforesaid with at least one gripping surface on one tongue as aforesaid in position for cooperation with two gripping surfaces of the confronting tongue to clamp a plurality of articles interposed in single file order therebetween; said clips having passageways accommodating said feet within which said feet are adjustable to vary the spacing between said tongues. 2. Display means as claimed in claim 1 wherein: each said tongue is of generally rectangular configuration affording two said gripping surfaces on each said tongue.

.3. Display means as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

each said gripper is formed from a single length of resilient wire comprising two gripping limbs affording two said gripping surfaces, a said foot integral with each said limb and an interconnection between said limbs remote from said feet.

4. Display means as claimed in claim 1 wherein: 7

two said gripping surfaces are provided on each said tongue.

. 5. Display means as claimed in claim 4 wherein:

each said tongue is in directly confronting relation with the other, the two gripping surfaces on the one tongue aforesaid being level with the corresponding two support surfaces on the other confronting tongue when said grippers are mounted as aforesaid.

6. Display means as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

each said tongue comprises two gripping limbs affording two said gripping surfaces on each tongue, each said limb having a said foot integral therewith.

7. Display means as claimed in claim 6 wherein:

said two limbs are interconnected at their ends remote from said feet.

8. Display means as claimed in claim 7 wherein:

each said foot comprises an integral extension of each limb substantially perpendicular thereto, the axis of each foot being laterally offset from the axis of each limb;

the 2 feet on the one tongue being laterally offset from their limbs in the same direction as the two feet on the confronting tongue are offset from their limbs, such offsets ermitting the two limbs of the one tongue to be mounted -evel with the corresponding two limbs of the other tongue when said feet are releasably secured in side-by-side relation by said clips to said backboard.

9. Display means as claimed in claim 8 wherein:

said two limbs and integral feet in each said gripper are formed from a single length of resilient wire.

10. Display means as claimed in claim 9 wherein:

the passageways in said clips accommodating said feet in side-by-side relation, retaining them against lateral displacement relative to one another but permitting longitudinal adjustment therebetween for varying the spacing between said tongues as aforesaid. 

1. Means for displaying a plurality of articles in single file order on backboard comprising: a pair of elongated grippers; tongues forming part of said grippers; gripping surfaces extending lengthwise of said tongues; clips for mounting said grippers by their feet on a said backboard with their tongues extending forwardly therefrom in mutually confronting and spaced relation; said tongues being resiliently biased towards one another when mounted as aforesaid with at least one gripping surface on one tongue as aforesaid in position for cooperation with two gripping surfaces of the confronting tongue to clamp a plurality of articles interposed in single file order therebetween; said clips having passageways accommodating said feet within which said feet are adjustable to vary the spacing between saId tongues.
 2. Display means as claimed in claim 1 wherein: each said tongue is of generally rectangular configuration affording two said gripping surfaces on each said tongue.
 3. Display means as claimed in claim 1 wherein: each said gripper is formed from a single length of resilient wire comprising two gripping limbs affording two said gripping surfaces, a said foot integral with each said limb and an interconnection between said limbs remote from said feet.
 4. Display means as claimed in claim 1 wherein: two said gripping surfaces are provided on each said tongue.
 5. Display means as claimed in claim 4 wherein: each said tongue is in directly confronting relation with the other, the two gripping surfaces on the one tongue aforesaid being level with the corresponding two support surfaces on the other confronting tongue when said grippers are mounted as aforesaid.
 6. Display means as claimed in claim 1 wherein: each said tongue comprises two gripping limbs affording two said gripping surfaces on each tongue, each said limb having a said foot integral therewith.
 7. Display means as claimed in claim 6 wherein: said two limbs are interconnected at their ends remote from said feet.
 8. Display means as claimed in claim 7 wherein: each said foot comprises an integral extension of each limb substantially perpendicular thereto, the axis of each foot being laterally offset from the axis of each limb; the 2 feet on the one tongue being laterally offset from their limbs in the same direction as the two feet on the confronting tongue are offset from their limbs, such offsets permitting the two limbs of the one tongue to be mounted level with the corresponding two limbs of the other tongue when said feet are releasably secured in side-by-side relation by said clips to said backboard.
 9. Display means as claimed in claim 8 wherein: said two limbs and integral feet in each said gripper are formed from a single length of resilient wire.
 10. Display means as claimed in claim 9 wherein: the passageways in said clips accommodating said feet in side-by-side relation, retaining them against lateral displacement relative to one another but permitting longitudinal adjustment therebetween for varying the spacing between said tongues as aforesaid. 